It seems as if our literature is fading and anemic, and in the opinion of Adam Zagajewski, that is because we have radically amputated the sublime in the course of the twentieth century. The high style has made way for a shallow conversational tone, which leads to a reduction of reality. Zagajewski makes a plea in favour of the high style as a dialogue between the here and now and the ghosts of the past, which can make our own works legendary for generations to come.

Nexus Lecture 1998: The Shabby and the Sublime or Is High Diction Possible in a Low Environment?